Summary
- The Far Side creator Gary Larson didn't aim to upset readers, but he quickly realized there was no avoiding it entirely.
- According to Larson, the formula for creating cartoons might be simple – but the reactions that readers have to any given cartoon complicate matters.
- The Far Side remains a cultural touchstone in large part because Gary Larson didn't shy away from offending some readers; decades later, American culture has shifted around The Far Side to the point where its strange humor is more "normal," while some jokes that were innocuous in the '80s now might be considered distasteful.
According to Gary Larson, the "formula" for crafting a the responses his cartoons could evoke were usually anything but. Larson effectively used this "formula" as a way of discussing the impossibility of avoiding offending people as an artist, in the process claiming that fewer Far Side comics were intended to cause controversy than some readers might suspect.
The Complete Far Side Volume Two contains an essay entitled "The Minefields of Mirth," in which Gary Larson, post-retirement, reflected on some of the hazards of navigating a career as a cartoonist. While noting that the essence of a cartoon is blissfully simple, he focused his attention on how easily it could lead to unintended consequences – namely, offended readers.
Larson wrote that the The Far Side over the years were "always inadvertent," and while that can be debated, his comments give readers the opportunity to consider their own responses to the artist's work.
This Recurring Far Side Joke Is the Perfect Metaphor For Gary Larson's Humor
Though it didn't appear with the frequency of the comic's infamous dogs, ducks, cats, & chickens, one repeat gag perfectly sums up The Far Side.
The "Formula" For The Far Side, According To Creator Gary Larson
From "The Minefields Of Mirth"
Gary Larson did not seek to intentionally offend anyone. In fact, if he had, it is unlikely The Far Side would have survived as long as it did in syndication, let alone thrived alongside more traditional cartoons.
In addition to his career as a prolific cartoonist, and his ion for playing jazz guitar, Gary Larson also had a background in science, something that is evident from the subject and tenor of many Far Side jokes. Though a deeply intuitive creator, there was also seemingly a strong analytic dimension to Larson's thought process. So, it is fitting that he broke down the atomic elements of a cartoon into a formula, in order to make a joke at his own expense. Discussing the perils of cartooning, he wrote:
In my experience, the simple formula: drawing (d) + words (w) = cartoon (c) can turn into
d + w = 𝝅 in my face.
Though amusing, this belies a deeper understanding of The Far Side.
That is to say, as basic of a level as the creation of a Far Side cartoon can be reduced to, the chemical reaction it produced in its reader was usually much more complicated. What this formula can't capture is the way The Far Side was a peculiar representation of its creator, Gary Larson, and his sense of humor. Because Larson's brand of comedy was so singular, there were bound to be many people who didn't "get it," and plenty who found it downright distasteful.
Larson alludes to this with his "cartoon formula" joke, before elaborating on it further in the remainder of his essay. While he might have sought to surprise, and occasionally perhaps even shock his audience, Gary Larson did not seek to intentionally offend anyone. In fact, if he had, it is unlikely The Far Side would have survived as long as it did in syndication, let alone thrived alongside more traditional cartoons like Garfield, Peanuts, or as Larson shouts out elsewhere in the essay, fellow artist Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy.
Gary Larson And The "Offensive Variable" Of Far Side Cartoons
Complicating The Formula
While Gary Larson didn't like to upset readers, his goal with The Far Side was to get a reaction, and consequently, even negative was a positive gauge that he had been right about a cartoons' potential.
For Gary Larson, the biggest complicating factor for a Far Side comic was the fact that it was going to be at odds with at least some readers' sensibilities. Larson did not let – positive or negative – impact his work, and he remained largely insulated from his audience, though not entirely. The Far Side is infamous for the letters to editors across the nation it provoked over the years, and for Larson, this was one of the difficulties of adjusting to life as a professional cartoonist.
As he wrote in The Complete Far Side Volume Two:
First, there is the offensive variable: Inadvertently offending people (speaking for myself, I swear it was always inadvertent, although I it to sometimes holding my breath when certain comics went "out the door") and reading their angry letters is a tough experience when you're first starting out young and enthusiastic, with visions of sugar cows in your head.
This age is particularly interesting for the artist's ission that he never intentionally courted controversy, while at the same time acknowledging that the potential for such didn't stop him from submitting certain comics for publication. While Gary Larson didn't like to upset readers, his goal with The Far Side was to get a reaction, and consequently, even negative was a positive gauge that he had been right about a cartoons' potential.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can't up this master collection of Gary Larson's finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
Gary Larson On The Unavoidable "Big Truth": Some Readers Were Inevitably Going To Be Offended
The Far Side & The Subjectivity Of Humor
There can be a thin line between being entertained, and being outraged; because of Gary Larson's unique worldview, The Far Side became infamous for dancing along this line.
In his exploration of the "offensive variable," which complicates the otherwise simple formula of comic construction, Gary Larson arrived at an equally simple conclusion. However an artist interprets criticism, and reacts to their work being received negatively, he wrote:
Eventually you learn the Big Truth: There's no avoiding this variable. You learn pretty fast in the humor business that offending people is simply inevitable.
In a way, this is a liberating realization; a work of art that achieves a wide enough audience is going to offend someone, in some way. If anything, this is the most concrete maxim that Gary Larson arrives at in his discourse on the topic.
All responses to all forms of art are, first and foremost, subjective and personal, but that is particularly true with humor. There can be a thin line between being entertained, and being outraged; because of Gary Larson's unique worldview, The Far Side became infamous for dancing along this line. If it hadn't, though, it is hard to say whether it would continue to fascinate people to this day, garnering appreciation from new and old readers alike decades after Larson retired from producing the comic.
Far Side Creator Gary Larson Explained the "Huge Difference" Between Cartoonists And Writers
According to Far Side creator Gary Larson, while there is certainly overlap between cartoonists & prose writers, there is one significant distinction.
Gary Larson's Outside Humor Has Become Mainstream Over The Decades
The Far Side Moves Inward From The Fringe
The Far Side has remained a cultural touchstone while the culture itself has shifted around it, providing a yardstick by which readers can measure things like their tolerance for absurdity, their sense of propriety, and their sensitivity to dark humor.
In his "Minefields of Mirth" essay, Gary Larson offered a fantastic elaboration on the subjectivity of taste. He offered an anecdote about an acquaintance who was offended by swear words in cartoons, even if they were censored. He wrote:
How easy is it to offend someone? Try this: I once knew someone who expressed indignation over the cartoonist's universal symbol for cursing. You know, the "&*#@*$#!" you sometimes see when, say, a character hits his thumb with a hammer? Maybe just a simple "#@!" would have been okay with this person, but a full, in-your-face "&*#@*$#!" was apparently too much to handle.
For the record, I don't believe I ever said "&*#@*$#!" in any of my cartoons, except once when I made fun of the device.
As Larson noted, offending someone is, for all intents and purposes, a byproduct of creating any piece of popular art. In his case, The Far Side's success with a large portion of American newspaper readers was fueled by the very things that upset a smaller segment.
In a way, part of what made The Far Side controversial during its day was its counterculture ethos; Gary Larson's humor subverted the ordinary, skewered the traditional, and generally refused to take any social norms for granted. This was part of what made his humor feel so radically "out there" at times. However, decades later, the humor of The Far Side is much more in light with contemporary attitudes than it was in the 1980s and early '90s. As a result, modern readers won't bat an eye at the most subversive Far Side comics.
The flip side to that is there are some Far Side cartoons that would not have raised concern at the time of their publication, which might come across as insensitive or tasteless to the strip's newer generation of readers. In this sense, The Far Side has remained a cultural touchstone while the culture itself has shifted around it, providing a yardstick by which readers can measure things like their tolerance for absurdity, their sense of propriety, and their sensitivity to dark humor.
Source: The Complete Far Side Volume Two
- Writer
- Gary Larson
- Colorist
- Gary Larson
The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
